Wouldn't It Be Nice?
by Alli Granger
Summary: One last night. That's what he had given me. One last night to tell him how much I loved him, to express my fears and worries. One last night to be together, after the accident. One last night to hold him, kiss him, and let him know how much I needed him. And then, he was gone. Harry Styles one-shot. Warning: extremely sad!


"I love you," He whispered softly against my ear; his hot breath fanned over my face. "Don't forget that, love."

My breath caught in my chest, and I closed my eyes, focusing on trying to memorize the gravelly tone of his voice. I felt myself choke up, a large lump making its way into my throat, threatening to make tears spill from my eyes.

I glanced up, looking at my surroundings; I'd made a makeshift tent once I'd gotten home, out of blankets and chairs—just like Harry and I used to do in our spare time. I'd strung some Christmas lights up, to give it a nice, sparkly feel; my little fort was lit up and beautiful, but for some reason, still made me feel dull.

I looked over to where the deep voice came from. Immediately, my heart jumped in my chest; I could never get used to looking at Harry. His hair was like it usually was—a messy mop on top of his head—and he was wearing a plain t-shirt and jeans. Despite his casual look, he seemed to be even more beautiful than usual; he radiated perfection. I felt the tears creep over the edge of my eyes and spill over, streaming down my cheeks; I sniffed, trying to regain control, but only ended up losing it even more.

Harry's smile faltered, and turned to a concerned frown. He reached over and wiped away some stray tears on my cheek. "Please don't cry, babe," He murmured. "I hate seeing you cry."

I met his green eyes. "Then why did you let this happen?" I asked, my voice shaky. "Why did you come here?"

That seemed to hit him hard—his face crumpled in pain. "I'm so sorry, baby," He whispered, his gravelly voice making my heart flip and flop. "I had to see you once more."

I swallowed, thinking back to the beginning of the day. It had started out very much like every other day—waking up beside, Harry, kissing him, telling him how much I loved him. Then, he took off, saying he had a busy day in the studio, with the other boys. I went to work, as usual, and had a pretty ordinary day. And then I got the news. Everything after that was sort of a blur—all I remember is crying a _lot_, and screaming. I remember seeing the others boys—Zayn, Louis, Niall and Liam—and they came and cried with me. I remember curling up on the ground and screaming. I remember being dropped off at home. I remember crying even more.

I began to cry even harder, and looked back at Harry. "This isn't fair," I protested weakly, "This can't happen—"

Harry shook his head. "It _did_ happen, love."

Another memory from the day flickered into my head—the scene of the accident. Harry had stepped off of the curb, directly into the path of an oncoming vehicle; the vehicle tried to dodge him, and smashed into another car. The cars skidded towards Harry, and hit him. He was dead almost instantly. When I'd gotten to the scene, there was nothing but two destroyed vehicles, and puddles of blood. The idea of it made my stomach turn, and I put my face in my hands, sobs escaping me.

Harry came closer to me, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders; I leaned into him, crying into his chest. "It's okay, babe," He said reassuringly. "You're going to get through this. Promise."

I pressed my forehead against his cheek, taking his face in my hands. "No, I'm not," I sobbed softly, my voice incredibly weak.

"No, you are," He said with a soft smile on his lips; he took my hands and held them tightly. "Trust me. Things will get better."

My face twisted up in pain. "Not without you."

Harry took a deep breath, and watched my face carefully. After a couple silent minutes, he muttered, "God, you're beautiful."

I broke down even further, and threw myself against him, wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands held my waist, holding us up; I burst into terrified sobs, and pressed my lips to his cheeks and lips and nose and wherever I could. "I love you," I cried, my heart aching, "Please don't leave me, baby."

I already knew what his response would be.

"I have to leave, babe." He wiped away the tears on my cheeks.

I hugged myself tighter to him. He was so warm, so strong—how could something like this just be gone within a second? How could the one most important person in my life disappear, just like that? "Well…do you have to leave right away? Could you stay with me, for tonight?"

"Of course, love." He propped his chin on my head, tucking my under his arm, "But you've got to promise me one thing, alright?"

"What do I have to promise you?"

"You can't cry anymore."

I sighed. "That's asking a bit much, Harry."

"Please," He asked, playing with my hair as he did so. "For me?"

I swallowed, the lump growing in my throat, but I held it back. "Fine. Promise."

"Thanks, love."

I leaned back into his arms, trying to memorize the feeling of his arms around me. "Harry?" I asked, my voice a squeak.

"Yeah, love?"

I looked down at the floor—which was a mess of blankets and pillows—a little unsure whether to speak my thoughts. Then, I remembered that this was my only chance to get answers, so I spoke up. "Did it hurt?" I asked. "The accident?"

There was a long silence, and he fumbled with his hands for a while, but after a minute or so, his gravelly voice whispered a response. "Yeah," He said thoughtfully, "It hurt. But it didn't last long."

My lip quivered. "I'm so sorry," I whispered. What if I had been able to stop this from happening? What if I'd cuddled him for a minute longer in bed, that morning? What if I'd given him one more kiss? Would that have been able to prolong this? Would he have been able to step off of that curb and not be hit by a car?

"S'not your fault, babe."

"I could have driven you," I whispered shakily. "Or given you money for a cab."

Harry shook his head, still playing with my hair. "You know I wouldn't have taken it. The studio's only three blocks away, love, there's no way you could have stopped this. Things happen for a reason."

I turned and looked at him, tears welling up in my eyes. "How are you not sad?" I asked, a bit angry. "How can you be so…_okay_ with this? With deserting me?"

Harry looked a bit hurt by that comment. "Babe, I _am_ sad—trust me. I don't want to leave you…but I know how things turn out for you." He shook his head, smiling down at his hands. "This is how its supposed to be, love."

I blinked. "You know how things turn out for me?" I asked, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged. "I know. I can see it." He laughed lightly, looking at the floor, shaking his head. "You're going to get through this just fine, babe. It'll take time, but it will happen. Believe me."

I began to cry again. "No," I muttered. "I don't _want_ to get through this—not without you here, not without you around." I wrapped my arms around him, resting my cheek on his chest.

"It'll be fine," He whispered into my hair, then kissed the top of my head. "You'll meet somebody new, fall in love. He'll make you feel better. I promise." Harry sighed, then mumbled something like, "God, you're gonna look so pretty on your wedding day."

I hugged myself tighter to him, breathing in his scent. I didn't _want_ anybody else. I didn't want to marry some other guy, or look beautiful at a wedding that wasn't mine and Harry's. I didn't want to move on. I wanted to stay here, forever. "Don't say that," I cried. "Don't tell me about this. I don't want that. I want _you_."

"You already have me."

"Not for long," I sobbed. "You're leaving me, remember?"

His fingers lifted my chin up, forcing me to look at him. "I'll always be here, love. Remember that. I'm always going to be watching over you." He was serious, but then a smile touched his lips. "Now, remember our promise? No crying."

I sniffed, and wiped away the tears in my eyes. "Oh. Right. Sorry."

He laughed. "I love you."

I raked my eyes over him, watching him carefully. "You know, I'm never gonna get over you."

"I know."

I swallowed. "That's trouble," I muttered, playing with the edge of a pillow beside me. "All I'll ever do is compare every person to you—and no one will top you. I'm going to live a long, lonely life, thanks to you."

Harry's lips twisted up in a sad smile. "You'll meet someone. He's going to be great, by the way."

"Wanna give me any hints?"

He shook his head. "That's against the rules, love."

I sighed. "I figured as much," I looked up again at the sparkly lights blinking down at me. Several silent moments passed before I whispered, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow, Harry."

He smirked. "Take the day off."

My gaze flickered to the ground. "_I never want to go to work, Harry._"

"And why not, my dear?"

I chewed my lip. "Because I won't be coming home to you."

Harry slipped his hand into mine. "I'll be here. You just won't see me."

I nodded. "Not seeing you. That's going to be the hardest part."

He rubbed his thumb against my hand softly. "You'll feel me, love. I'm always going to be with you."

I actually felt reassured, strangely enough. I knew things would be different, but knowing that Harry was here, with me—whether I could see him or not—made me feel a bit better. "I'm going to miss you like crazy."

"I'll miss you, too."

I opened my mouth to respond, but a loud, shrill ringing interrupted me; I froze, frowned, and then grabbed my cell from my pocket. The caller I.D showed my mom—obviously, she was calling to check up on me. One of the boys must have informed her of the accident, because I hadn't. She must be worried.

I glanced at the phone, and then back at Harry. It was already so late—probably two in the morning—and I only had a small amount of time left with him. He was only staying with me tonight. I didn't want to waste my time. I feared that he would disappear any moment.

Harry seemed to understand. "Answer it, love," He murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."

I nodded, and answered the call. "Mom?" I muttered into the phone, and for the first time, realized how bad I sounded—my nose was stuffed, my throat was raw from all the screaming, and my tone was flat.

Instantly, she freaked out and expressed her concern. She asked me how I was doing and how she was so sorry for this happening to me, and rambled on about how she could come up and visit me and make me soup. I told her that I was alright—for the time being, but only because Harry was directly beside me (of course, I didn't tell her that)—and that I would like it if she came up. We talked on the phone for probably an hour; Harry spent the entire time playing with my hair and planting silent kisses along my jawline.

Once I hung up, I turned to him. "Sorry," I murmured. "Mom's all worried about me and stuff."

"It's alright."

I sniffed, then glanced around. To my right, sitting on a dresser—I'd managed to make my fort go around all the furniture—was the stereo; instantly, I stood, and offered Harry my hand. "C'mon," I said as lightly as possible. "Let's dance."

Harry chuckled, but obliged, and joined me. "What shall we dance to, m'lady?"

I pressed the play button on the stereo. "Let's take a risk and just dance to whatever comes up. Sound good?"

"You daredevil."

I smiled, but it was still tainted by sadness. I pressed the play button on the stereo and music filled the room; instantly, I recognized the song—it was me and Harry's song. _Wouldn't It Be Nice_ by _The Beach Boys_. My heart felt like it was breaking.

Harry smiled softly, though. "Perfect." He wrapped his arms around my waist, and placed mine around his neck; we swayed to the music, completely offbeat, our bodies so close it was more like hugging than dancing.

I leaned my head against his chest as we swayed slowly, not bothering to keep up with the tempo. I don't know how long we danced like that—the song was on repeat—but I didn't really care; I was there, in that moment, with Harry holding me. That's all I wanted. Ever.

As the song came to an end for the fiftieth time, Harry turned it down so it was just a murmur in the background. I looked up at him questioningly, but he smiled down at me. "You're falling asleep."

"_No_," I protested. "I'm not—"

"Babe, you need to sleep. It's been a long day." He watched me with careful softness, but I could see the traces of pure sadness in his features.

I blinked back tears. "But if I sleep…" I trailed off, knowing that this would be the last time I would be with Harry. "No. I can stay awake."

He shook his head. "Love, please. You're so tired you can't even see straight."

I frowned, knowing he was right. "I don't want you to leave me."

"I won't. Let's just lay down, alright?" He offered me his hand, and I took it; he set up some pillows for him to lean on, and made a bed out of the blankets on the ground. He laid down, and I followed suit; I rested my head on his warm chest.

After several comfortable, silent moments, I whispered up to him. "This is going to be so hard, Harry. Doing everything without you."

He stroked my hair. "It'll be hard at first, but things will get better," He smiled down at me. "Talk to the boys. They'll help."

I snuggled into his chest and yawned.

"Go to sleep, love."

I closed my eyes and nodded, my cheek pressed against him. I yawned again. "Alright, Harry." I could feel myself drifting away, deep into unconsciousness. I felt warm, and comfortable, like I was in heaven. I yawned again and snuggled closer to him, feeling the heat radiating off of him, feeling his arms stretch around me, holding me.

In the background, I could hear the Beach Boys singing softly from the stereo. After a bit, Harry began humming to the song—_our song_—and even began to sing very softly to the lyrics.

"_Wouldn't it be nice to live together, in the kind of world where we belong? You know it's gonna make it that much better, where we can say goodnight and stay together…"_

And then, I drifted into darkness.

When I awoke, I was still warm. The Christmas lights overhead were still twinkling down at me; the Beach Boys were no longer singing to me from the stereo in the corner. Light was shining in from the windows, hitting the blankets that were the roof of my fort, and creating a nice, orange glow within. The apartment was silent.

I sat up, and glanced around. Everything was in the same order as it had been last night. The only difference was that I was no longer cuddling against the warm, familiar boy I'd fallen in love with; now, I was lying by myself on the ground, surrounded by nothing and no one. The spot beside me was cold. Harry was gone.

And I was alone.


End file.
